Millimeter Wave Connected Vehicles

Millimeter Wave (mmWave) Vehicular Communications

The number of sensors on vehicles, and the rate of data that they generate, is increasing. The average number of sensors on a vehicle today is around 100, but that number is expected to double by 2020 as vehicles become smarter. Active safety algorithms therefore need to work with more sources of data and higher data volumes. While DSRC permits vehicles to exchange messages with a range up to 1000 meters, the maximum data rate in practice is only 2-6 Mbps. Fourth generation (4G) cellular systems could be used for V2X communication systems; however, the maximum data rate is still limited to 100 Mbps for high mobility, though much lower rates are typical.

This motivates the use of millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum for fully connected vehicles. The use of mmWave provides access to high bandwidth communication channels, leading to the potential for gigabit-per-second data rates and realizing raw sensor data exchange among vehicles and infrastructure

In our group, we have been studying several aspects of vehicular communication using mmWave including joint mmWave radar and communication systems, channel modeling, beam alignment algorithms, security issues, and prototyping. Joint mmWave automotive radar and communication systems will allow to simultaneously achieve ultra-low latency and high range of operation, with advantages of reduced cost, size, and efficient spectrum usage for the vehicles. Appropriate models for vehicular mmWave channels are necessary to design efficient mmWave vehicular communication protocols including beam alignment algorithms. All proposed mmWave vehicular communication techniques should be tested in real environments with prototypes to verify their effectiveness.

This research was partially supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Data-Supported Transportation Operations and Planning (D-STOP) Tier 1 University Transportation Center and by the Texas Department of Transportation under Project 0-6877 entitled Communications and Radar-Supported Transportation Operations and Planning (CAR-STOP).